Irony in the Book of Esther One must be particularly cautious when applying the techniques of contemporary literary scrutiny to any portion of the bible since the bible, as it is handed to us, is a mosaic of stories written, interpreted and edited by countless individuals over the course of thousands of years. It would therefore be unreasonable to apply the same standards of examination as it would to a literary work that was composed by a single person living during a particular time period. There are very few well-read documents around in this day and age that bear this particular difficulty. In most works of literature it can be assumed that the author has intentionally incorporated irony into the story as a literary device, i.e. a means of attempting satire or creating depth and texture to a work. But, in the case of the bible we cannot always be as certain. It is quite reasonable to assume that much of the irony we stumble upon in the bible is really more a function of the document’s haphazard creation rather than purposeful intent on the part of the author. That is to say, it is pointless to truly discuss such issues of irony without the insights of biblical scholarship unless we are to examine the work as “the work itself”. Therefore, the following is an attempt to examine the use of irony in the first eight chapters of the book of Esther simply as it exists, purposely neglecting historical circumstance and intent.Although irony seems to be lurking around every corner in the first eight chapters of Esther, none is greater than the irony which surrounds the Jew Mordeccai. The irony of this character sets the underlying tone for the entire eight chapters and epitomizes the plight of the Jewish people throughout the entire kingdom. As we know, the disobedience of the king’s law by Mordeccai is the reason why all the Jews in the kingdom are to be put to death in the first place. The irony that Mordecc...
